News

States can require Internet retailers to tell customers how much they owe in sales taxes thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday that could help officials recoup billions of dollars lost to online retailers. The court declined to hear a challenge to a Colorado law requiring online sellers to notify customers and the state how much they owe in taxes. At least three other states – Louisiana, Oklahoma and Vermont – have passed similar laws. Though the court did not rule on the merits of the case, states are likely to see the move “as a green light to step up collection efforts,” WRCB TV reports.

This month the TBA is launching a new way to purchase CLE courses. The 1Click series allows lawyers to sign up for multiple course with one click. Look for sets of programs in a variety of categories, including ethics programs and courses by practice area. Current offerings include two three-hour ethics series, an eight-hour general practice series and a five-hour tax law series.

A number of CLE programs on current tax law issues are now available as online video. Programming includes sessions on the Tennessee Sales and Use Tax, including a discussion of technologies that impact tax policy; repeal of the Hall Income Tax and update on the Tennessee Tax Regulation Project; tax deferred exchanges under Section 1031 of the tax code; and proposed regulations under Section 385 dealing with inversions. Register for and watch these course at the links above.

In response to the wildfire disasters in Gatlinburg and Sevier County, the TBA is partnering with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS), Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) and the Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission to help those affected with their legal needs. Attorneys who want to help can access training resources and other materials on the TBA's Disaster Legal Assistance page. Legal clinics and outreach related to losses from the fires are anticipated and volunteers will be needed. For more information or to volunteer in the area, contact Kathryn Ellis at Legal Aid of East Tennessee. Those who are not in the area but still want to help can volunteer to answer online questions at TN Free Legal Answers or respond to calls on the HELP4TN helpline. The TBA's Young Lawyers Division Disaster Relief Committee has also been activated and will be assisting with volunteer recruitment and coordination efforts. To volunteer, complete the Disaster Legal Assistance Volunteer Form. If you know someone in need of legal assistance, please have them call the legal helpline at 844-HELP4TN, or visit help4tn.org.

The Islamic Center of Nashville is battling with the state over whether the center’s lawsuit seeking a retroactive tax exemption is a valid federal case, the Tennessean reports. The state argues that since the suit disputes a state tax law it should be brought in state court. The mosque says it filed the case in federal court because the state law violates federal law and the constitution by restricting religion. The issue arose when the mosque negotiated a special banking agreement to pay for construction of a school without paying interest.

Indian police said three nondescript office buildings on the edge of a Mumbai suburb were packed with hundreds of people posing as Internal Revenue Service officials in a scam that has vexed Americans for years. According to CNN Money, the scammers posed as IRS officials and threatened Americans with jail time if they did not pay money that allegedly was owed. Among the 70 people arrested were those who alleged that 700 people in nine call centers made thousands of calls a day to try to trick Americans into sending money.

David Williams II, athletics director and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs at Vanderbilt University, will share his perspective on the Southeast Conference (SEC) Aug. 30 from 1-3 p.m. at the Williamson County Public Library in Franklin. Williams, who has represented the SEC in negotiations over television contracts and currently chairs an infractions appeals committee for the NCAA, holds a master of business administration and law degree from the University of Detroit as well as a master of laws in taxation from New York University.

The TBA Tax Law Section is commited to offering pro bono assistance this year to those in the community who may have tax questions but cannot afford an attorney. If you are intested in participating, please contact me via email by Nov. 11 with the following information:

Name

BPR#

Firm Name

Address

Email

Telephone

Please list the types of cases you are willing to accept.

Please list the counties where you will accept case.

Please put TBA TAX LAW SECTION PRO BONO OPPORTUNITY in the subject line of your email. Your information will then be submitted to local organizations that may have a need for your services in the future.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. We look forward to you joining our efforts to supply pro bono services to the Tennessee community.

The TBA Tax Law Section Executive Council is looking for individuals who would like to join the executive council. The council assists with development of CLE programming, discusses and provides opinions on potential legislation and produces news for section members.

If you are intested in joining the executive council, please contact me via email by Aug. 19. Please put TBA TAX LAW SECTION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL in the subject line of your email. Your information will be submitted to the executive council for review.

Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration has proposed a rule that would require out-of-state businesses to collect and pay state sales tax if their sales exceed $500,000 in Tennessee, the Tennessean reports. Under current federal court rulings, only those sellers who have a physical presence in the state must collect state sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue estimates that the state has missed out on $300 to $450 million in annual sales tax from out-of-state sellers. A number of states have proposed similar measures in hopes Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court will provide a nationwide solution.

A CLE on Tennessee and federal tax law will be held at the Bar Center on Sept. 12. The program will include updates on Section 1031 exchanges, the Tennessee Tax Regulation Project, sales and use tax, and new proposed regulations under § 385. Richard H. Roberts, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue, also will present a special legislative update on the Hall Income Tax Repeal. Learn more or register online.

I would like to announce our next TBA Tax Law Section CLE, which will address the latest developments in Tennessee and Federal tax law. This CLE will be held on Sept. 12 at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville. The TBA Tax Law Section sponsors the CLE and our Executive Council has worked hard to put together an informative and beneficial program for our section members, as well as all tax attorneys in the State of Tennessee.

Speakers include Commissioner Richard Roberts from the Tennessee Department of Revenue and others from across the state. Topics include the repeal of the Hall Income Tax, Section 1031 exchanges; variability of sales and use tax in the emerging technological realm; and IRS changes to the Partnership Tax audit regulations.

As a bonus, TBA Tax Law Section Members receive a section discount for this program and all other CLE sponsored by the Tax Law Section throughout the year. If you know someone who is not a section member, please encourage him or her to join and start saving today.

Gov. Bill Haslam wants Tennessee to join a growing group of states seeking to revisit rulings preventing collection of sales taxes from out-of-state online retailers, the Times-Free Press reports. State Department of Revenue officials will hold a rulemaking hearing in August on a proposed rule that would require out-of-state online companies with more than $500,000 in annual sales in Tennessee to collect and remit sales taxes starting July 1, 2017. At least a dozen states also are pushing a patchwork of laws or rules they hope will pressure Congress to act or, more likely, force the issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has posted a new sales and use tax notice concerning diplomatic tax exemption cards. The new post provides detailed information and examples on how a person with a diplomatic tax exemption card is exempt -- either fully or partially -- from state and local taxation.

A federal jury in Nashville has found Michael Mancil Brown guilty of engaging in an extortion and wire fraud scheme involving former presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s tax returns, the Humphrey on the Hill blog reports. The Franklin man was convicted of six counts of wire fraud and six counts of using facilities of interstate commerce to commit extortion for his scheme to defraud Romney, the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and others, by falsely claiming that he had gained access to the PricewaterhouseCoopers internal computer network and had stolen tax documents for Romney and his wife, Ann D. Romney. A sentencing hearing will likely be in August.

Monypeny & Associates, a Memphis-area tax litigation firm, announced today it will open a Nashville office in the Fifth Third Center. The Nashville Post reports Tyler DeWitt, a principal attorney and CPA with the firm, will oversee the Nashville office.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld a decision by the Tennessee Department of Revenue to impose a tax variance on the parent company of Verizon Wireless and ruled the Commissioner of Revenue was within his authority to impose the variance. The lawsuit, filed in 2007 by Vodafone Americas Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries, asked Tennessee to refund nearly all state franchise and excise taxes it had paid from 2002-2006. The company claimed the apportionment formula in Tennessee’s franchise and excise tax has been incorrectly applied. The Commissioner of Revenue then decided to impose on Vodafone a tax variance that required the company to pay franchise and excise taxes by a formula that varied from the standard apportionment formula in Tennessee’s tax statutes. The trial court and the Court of Appeals both upheld the Commissioner’s decision to issue the tax variance. Read the majority opinion in Vodafone Americas Holdings, Inc. v. Reagan Farr, authored by Justice Holly Kirby, and the dissent by Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins.

The TBA Mentoring Program is seeking volunteer mentors from across the state in the area of tax law. Those participating in the program will commit to a formal mentoring relationship for one year, with a requirement to meet face-to-face at least once a month. For more information, visit the TBA Mentoring Program webpage or contact TBA staff member Kate Prince, 615-277-3202.

The Department of Revenue has begun the formal process for issuing updated rules for sales tax, franchise and excise tax and business tax, as well as a small number of administrative rules. Over the past several months, the Department has been in the process of receiving and evaluating informal feedback from parties who previously contacted the Department expressing interest in the process.

On February 25, the Department filed a Notice of Rulemaking Hearing with the Secretary of State. That filing can be found here. The Department anticipated the need for new or updated rules due in part to recent legislative changes. Additionally, a number of obsolete or outdated rules need to be updated or repealed.

The rulemaking hearing will be held on April 26 at 1 p.m. Central Time at the Andrew Jackson State Building in Nashville. The hearing will be held in Hearing Room 201. Oral or written comments are invited at the hearing. Additionally, written comments from the public may be submitted to Department prior to the hearing.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue offers the Administrative Hearing Office as a forum where taxpayers can work with informal conference personnel to resolve disputes about tax assessments and tax refund claim denials. Hearing Office personnel are required to exercise independent judgment and to render decisions on individual issues based on the facts and the law.

The Hearing Office’s mission is to resolve disputes on behalf of the Commissioner of Revenue in an informal, expeditious, consistent and cost effective manner. The Hearing Office may also make determinations about the correct amount of tax due and conducts informal conferences with taxpayers to discuss their legal positions, ask questions, request additional information or documentation and make a determination as to how the dispute should be resolved.

Sometimes, the answer to how a tax dispute should be resolved is not always clear. In these situations, the Hearing Office is authorized to recommend compromises to the Commissioner of Revenue. The Commissioner may consider compromising a tax liability for less than the full amount owed if it is in the best interests of the state to do so.

Read more about the Hearing Office's mission and role, as well as fiscal year 2015 statistics on conferences, in the annual report posted here.

Experts from the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign and the National Women's Law Center will be hosting a free webinar about tax issues for the LGBTQ community. The webinar is scheduled for March 3, at noon Central. Register today to reserve your spot.

Students at the University of Tennessee College of Law will offer free tax preparation help through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. The VITA program, which runs through April 14, offers free tax help and electronic filing to persons with disabilities, limited English-speaking taxpayers and more. Assistance is available from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday in Suite 157 of the College of Law. Call 865-974-2492 for more information.

Due dates for certain Tennessee franchise and excise tax returns, business tax returns and Hall income tax returns have changed to Monday, April 18, instead of Friday, April 15, to be consistent with the Internal Revenue Service federal income tax filing deadline for most of the country. For more information, please read important notice #16-02, which just posted to the Department of Revenue’s website.